Page images
PDF
EPUB

of the bodies of the survivor or survivors of them and every of them, as in the said will proved and recorded in the court of the said county, among other things more fully is contained, and soon after making the said will departed this life, after whose death hiss id children entered into the said lands and were thereof seised, and the said Thomas Smith, Richard Smith, George Smith, and Jane Smith, died without issue, whereby the said Arthur Smith, the son, became seised of the whole tract aforesaid, and being so seised, made his last will and testament, in writing, bearing date the second day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and ninety six, and thereby, among other things, he did devise the said lands to his three sons, Arthur Smith, George Smith, and Thomas Smith, and the male heirs of their bodies lawfully begotten, and in default of issue, of any of his said sons, to the survivor and the male heirs of his body lawfully begotten, and for want of male heirs, to the female heirs of their bodies lawfully begotten, and on failure of such, to his three daughters, Jane, Sarah, and Mary, and the male heirs of their bodies lawfully begotten, his said daughter Jane, and the heirs of her body, to have half of the said land, and the other half to fall to his other two daughters Sarah and Mary, and the male heirs of their bodies, and for want of issue of both his sons and daughters, then the said land to fall to the use of the parish of New Port, for maintaining and encouraging a free school, as in the said will, proved and recorded in the said county court, more fully is contained, and soon after making the said will, the said Arthur Smith died seised as aforesaid, and after his death his said sons entered into the said lands, and the said George Smith, and Thomas Smith, died without issue, whereby the said Arthur Smith, the grandson, became seised of all the said lands with the appurtenances, and died so seised leaving issue Arthur Smith, his eldest son and heir, who entered into the same, and hath lately laid off seventy five acres or thereabouts, part of the said lands into lots and streets for a town called Smithfield, and hath agreed for the sale of many of the said lots, which town is likely to become of great custom and trade, and will tend very much to the increase of the value of the residue of the said intailed lands. And whereas the said last mentioned Arthur Smith is seised, in

1

fee-simple, of one water grist mill, with two acres of land thereunto belonging, by him lately purchased of one Thomas Walton, and of forty acres of land or thereabouts, near the said mill, lately purchased by him of William Hodsden, lying and being in the said parish and county, which said mill and lands with the appurtenances, are of greater value than the said seventy five acres, so laid off by the said last mentioned Arthur Smith, for the use aforesaid, and the said Arthur Smith, being desirous to perform his agreement for the sale of the said lots, is willing, that the entail of the said seventy five acres should be dock'd, and the said mill with the said forty acres, purchased of the said William Hodsden, shall be settled to the same uses: And forasmuch as notice hath been published in the several churches of the said parish of New Port, that application would be made to this General Assembly, to dock the entail of the said seventy five acres of land, with the appurtenances, and to vest the same in the said last mentioned Arthur Smith, in fee-simple, upon settling other lands, and the said mill, to the same uses, pursuant to your majesty's instructions;

II. May it therefore please your most excellent majesty, at the humble suit of the said last mentioned Arthur Smith, that it may be enacted, By the Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That the said seventy five acres of land or thereabouts, with the appurtenances, part of the said two thousand two hundred and seventy five acres on Pagan creek, and so as aforesaid laid off for a town, be, and the same are hereby vested in the said last mentioned Arthur Smith, his heirs and assigns, to the only use and behoof of him the said Arthur Smith, his heirs and assigns for ever: And that the said water grist mill, with the lands and appurtenances thereunto belonging, and the said forty acres of land with the appurtenancess, purchased of the said William Hodsden, be, and the same are hereby vested in the said Arthur Smith, to such use and uses, and for such estate and estates, and subject to the like limitations as the said seventy five acres of land or thereabouts, are and stand limited by the said two recited wills, and the said Arthur Smith, and all others claiming under him, shall have, hold, and enjoy, the

said mill and forty acres of land, in lieu of the said seventy five acres of land, in the same manner as he, she, or they, could or might have claimed, held or enjoyed, the said seventy five acres of land, so laid off for a town as aforesaid, in case this act had never been made, and not otherwise.

III. Saving to the King's most excellent majesty, his heirs and successors, and all and every other person or persons, bodies politic and corporate, their respective heirs and successors, other than the persons claiming under the two before recited last wills and testaments, all such right, title, interest, claim, and demand, as they, every or any of them, should or might have had or claimed if this act had never been made. V. Provided always, That the execution of this act, shall be suspended until his majesty's approbation thereof shall be obtained.

CHAP. XLIX.

An Act to dock the entail of certain lands whereof David Garland is seised, and for settling other lands and slaves of greater value to the same uses.

Garland is

I. WHEREAS Edward Garland, the elder, late of the county of New Kent, deceased, was in his lifetime Intail of cerseised in fee-simple of, and in one certain tract or par- tain lands of cel of land, containing by estimation six hundred and which David eighty acres, being the land whereon he lived, with seised, dockthe appurtenances, lying and being in the parish of ed. St. Paul, then in the county of New Kent, but now in the county of Hanover, and being so seised, did make his last will and testament, in writing, bearing date the fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and nineteen, and thereby, among other things, he did give and devise the same unto his son Edward Garland, and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten, by the description of the plantation whereon he then lived, and all the land

belonging to it, up to the head of the little neck, excepting the life of his wife Jane Garland upon the said plantation, to him and his heirs, and so from heir to heir as long as any should appear, but failing of such heirs, to the other brother in the manner before directed by the said will, as in the said will proved and recorded in the court of the said county of New Kent more fully is contained, and soon after making the said will the said Edward Garland departed this life, after whose death and the death of the said Jane Garland, the said Edward Garland the son, entered into the said lands, with the appurtenances, and was seised thereof as the law requires, and died so seised, after whose death David Garland, eldest son and heir of the said Edward Garland the són, entered into the said, land, with the appurtenances, and was and is thereof seised: And whereas the said David Garland is seised, in fee-simple, of one certain tract or parcel of land containing by estimation, twelve hundred and twenty two acres, lying and being in the county of Lunenburg, lately purchased by him of John Edloe, and Anne his wife, and one other tract or parcel of land containing by estimation, eight hundred and twenty six acres, lying and being in the said county of Lunenburg, lately purchased by him of William Edloe, and Anne his wife, and is also possessed of eight slaves, named Will, Peter, Daniel, Adam, Dick, Gilbert, Kate, and Amy, as of his own proper slaves, and it will be for the advantage and benefit of the heir in tail, and of those claiming in remainder and reversion, under the will of the said Edward Garland, the elder, to dock the entail of the said tract or parcel of land in the county of Hanover, whereby the said David Garland may be enabled to make a better provision for his younger children, and to settle his said other lands, in the county of Lunenburg, with the slaves aforesaid to be annexed thereto, being of greater value, to the same uses. And forasmuch as notice has been published three Sundays successively, in the several churches of the said parish of Saint Paul, that application would be made to this General Assembly, to dock the entail of the said six hundred and eighty acres of land, and to settle other lands and slaves of greater value to the same uses, pursuant to your majesty's instructions;

II. May it therefore please your most excellent majesty, at the humble suit of the said David Garland, that it may be enacted, and Be it enacted, by the Lieutenant Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the said tract or parcel of land, with the appurtenances, containing six hundred and eighty acres, lying and being in the said county of Hanover, so as aforesaid, devised by the last will and testament of the said Edward Garland, the elder, and whereof the said David Garland now stands seised in fee-tail, be, and the same is hereby vested in the said David Garland, his heirs and assigns in fee-simple, to the only use and behoof of him the said David Garland, his heirs and assigns tor ever; and that the said two several tracts or parcels of land herein before mentioned, to be purchased by the said David Garland, lying and being in the said county of Lunenburg, and all and every the slaves before named, together with the future increase of the said female slaves, be, and the same are hereby vested in the said David Garland, and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten, and upon failure of such heirs, the same shall remain and descend to such person and persons, in the same manner, and under the same limitations and remainders successively, as the said six hundred and eighty acres of land would have remained and descended, by virtue of the said before recited last will and testament of the said Edward Garland, the elder, if this act had never been made.

III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the estate tail in the said lands in the county of Lunenburg, hereby settled in lieu of the other lands in the county of Hanover, shall not at any time hereafter be docked or defeated, by writ in the nature of an ad quod damnum or otherwise, except by act of the General Assembly of this dominion.

IV. Saving to the king's most excellent majesty, his heirs and successors, and to all and every other person and persons, bodies politic and corporate, their respective heirs and successors, other than the persons claiming under the last will and testament of the said Edward Garland, the elder, all such right, title, interest, claim, and demand, as they, every or any of them, should or might claim, if this act had never been made.

P P-Vol. 6.

t

« PreviousContinue »